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[[Lambic]] is a similar beer produced in Belgium, but is fermented using [[Spontaneous Fermentation|spontaneous fermentation]]. Enterobacteria were not found in the Flanders red brewery that Martens et al. studied since spontaneous fermentation was not used. However, after the enterobacteria and primary ''Saccharomyces'' fermentation phases of lambic brewing are complete, the microbial populations of lambic and Flanders red/brown beers are similar during their aging processes. Both beers display a dominance by ''Brettanomyces'' and ''Pediococcus'' during the aging phases. Flanders Red Ales differ by having a large portion of the acid production performed by ''Lactobacilli'', where as in lambic the acid production is performed by ''Pediodoccus damnosus''. Flanders Flemish red ales -brown beers are also characterized by having ''P. parvulus'' instead of ''P. damnosus'' (although this may have been misidentified; see [[Flanders_Red_Ale#Modern_Analysis|Modern Analysis]] below), however Martens et al. noted that the two species have no clear difference as far as their effects on fermentation go. Martens also noted that ''Brettanomyces'' began to disappear from old English Porter when the beer moved from wooden casks to metallic ones. It is thought then that the wooden casks are vital to ''Brettanomyces'' in Flanders Red Ale Flemish red-brown beer brewing, perhaps due to the presence of ''Pediococci'', with which ''Brettanomyces'' "cooperates" to ferment dextrins in the beer during the aging phase <ref name="Martens"></ref>.

Belgian brewers have even married the Flanders Flemish red ale -brown beer and lambic by blending the two beers together. The Flanders "acid beer" is fermented with cherries, and later on lambic is added and the blend is allowed to referment in the bottle, creating something truly special <ref name="Verachtert"></ref>.

A more recent study by Snaewaert et al. (see reference <ref name="snauwaert"></ref>) looked at the microbial and metabolic composition in the finished beer of the same brewery as Martens et al., as well as two other Flanders Flemish red ale -brown beer breweries using "state of the art" DNA sequencing methods. Three samples were analyzed (A, B, and C) from each brewery (1, 2, and 3). As expected, there were both similarities and differences between the three breweries tested, as well as some differences between the individual beers from each brewery.